Denmark exports more fashion than pork

Total annual exports of 24 billion kroner and it is continuing to grow

Danish fashion is one of the country’s strongest exports.

Exports of clothing increased by 7 percent in the first three quarters of 2015. In total, sales of Danish brands around the world were just shy of 24 billion kroner, according to the industry group Wear Danish.

In comparison, Denmark’s famous pork industry had sales of 17.9 billion kroner worldwide during the same time period.

“The Danish fashion industry is doing very, very well,” Morten Gade Steinmetz from the accounting firm Deloitte told Politiken. Deloitte publishes an annual overview of the fashion industry.

A silk purse or a sow’s ear
Some analysts have pointed out that a lot of Danish clothing isn’t actually made in the country, so it is unfair to compare its success with an industry like pork production, where the pigs are actually raised and slaughtered in Denmark.

Steinmetz disagreed.

“Danes are good at spotting trends, designing beautiful clothes and creating marketable collections,” he said.

“Just because it is not sewn in Denmark doesn’t make it any less Danish. One could also ask where pig feed comes from.”

Chinamark?
Many Danish fashion lines are manufactured and sold outside of the country, with the clothing never actually touching Danish shores.

READ MORE: Copenhagen voted most fashionable Nordic city

The Chinese giant Bestseller sells Danish brands like ONLY, Vero Moda and Jack & Jones at its 6,000 stores. All of the clothes are manufactured and sold in China.

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